American Duties 3 of 11

From the Eisenhower Building address comes another question for Bush...And he has an answer:

QUESTION: Several Republican lawmakers recently have criticized Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. What does he need to do to rebuild their trust?

BUSH: Well, first of all, when I asked the secretary to stay on as secretary of defense, I was very pleased when he said yes. And I asked him to stay on because I understand the nature of the job of the secretary of defense and I believe he's doing a really fine job.

The secretary of defense is a complex job. It's complex in times of peace and it's complex even more so in times of war.

And the secretary has managed this department during two major battles in the war on terror, Afghanistan and Iraq. And at the same time he's working to transform our military so it functions better, it's lighter, it's ready to strike on a moment's notice; in other words, that the force structure meets the demands we face in the 21st century.

Not only is he working to transform the nature of the forces, we're working to transform where our forces are based.

As you know, we've recently worked with the South Korean government, for example, to replace manpower with equipment, to keep the peninsula secure and the Far East secure, but at the same time recognizing we have a different series of threats.

And he's done a fine job and I look forward to continue to work with him.

And I know the secretary understands the Hill. He's been around in Washington a long period of time. And he will continue to reach out to members of the Hill, explaining the decisions he's made. And I believe that in the new term, members of the Senate and the House will recognize what a good job he's doing.

OPINION

I agree with Bush. Rumsfeld will continue to reach out to people on the Hill and make the effort needed to effectively handle this war. However, Rumsfeld is not very popular with the American troops so maybe he should work on reaching out to them. Whether that is good or not is for you to decide. Rumsfeld is like a war general right now. Is it better to be feared or loved? Well, given the way that this war was initiated...I think feared actually is better even if it means people not feeling so into the idea of fighting. I mean, some soldiers may think about deserting and also may leave the army as soon as possible but overall, you know...he's got a system that is necessary given the circumstances.